Tiny Pearl Chapter 35: Firefly, a naruto fanfic

FIREFLY

Chapter 35

When he surfaced again he had to drag himself ashore with his arms and elbows. Even with his Sharingan and "extra attachments" he hadn't been able to find her, let alone catch up to her. It was crippling. The fact that he was unable to see or sense her chakra . . .

Sasuke! Someone was shouting in his ears, pulling him further from the river. His vision spun on an axis, stirring vomit to the back of his throat. He forced it down and beat at the sides of his head. An air bubble popped, causing warm water to spill from his ear canal.

"Are you alright?" Naruto exclaimed. Of course it was Naruto.

Sasuke coughed up everything that had managed to get into his lungs, half expecting a salmon to come tumbling out of his nose. With a swipe of his mouth he positioned himself on his legs. "What the hell are you doing here?" The river had cooled his body enough to abate the curse mark, and its side effects. Without the enormous amphibious hands he was able to balance himself much more easily. He grabbed Naruto by his collar and shook him. "Why did you come here? Why?" He coughed towards the ground.

"Why did I come here—"

"Yeah, why the hell did you bring Hinata here?"

"Hinata-chan came here to bring you back! I didn't force her to do anything!" He pushed Sasuke away from him. "What the hell is wrong with you, Sasuke? Do you really think you can just leave? Orochimaru's manipulating you, can't you see that? You're supposed to be the smart one here!"

"Shut up! You don't know anything—you never do! Why do you think I came here in the first place? If you actually had a family to miss you might understand."

"Don't give me that!" Naruto shouted. His fists were shaking. "I thought you liked Hinata-chan! If you like her than why did you leave her? You don't think I would have liked to know my parents? You don't think I would have liked to have some memory of them, even if it was only a few minutes? Well I don't, but I can't turn back time or change the past and neither can you, so why don't you hurry up and get the hell over it? There are people everywhere who care about you right now, so why do you have to chase after someone who only wants you dead? You don't make sense!"

Sasuke's fist went flying at Naruto's face, but he dodged by the skim of his cheek, countering with a knee to the stomach. Sasuke folded forward, but only dropped to one knee. Again he coughed, but the fury was already working itself out. His mind was chaos. Though he wanted to fight back, he just couldn't find it in himself to raise another hand. "You don't get it," he said lowly.

Naruto grit his teeth angrily. "Sasuke…" He shook his head. "You're supposed to be stronger than this."

Lee and Sakura came running up to them, appearing from the fog so suddenly that Naruto was taken off guard. "Sasuke!" Sakura cried. At the sound of her voice he turned with such a dark expression that she froze. Even Lee was startled to a standstill.

"Guys!" Naruto shouted. "Where's Kiba?"

"He went after Hinata-chan's scent," Sakura explained. "He knew you two were together, so we decided to separate."

Sasuke's heart pounded. He started toward Sakura in long, powerful strides. Sakura shrank away from him, something she had never done before. Her knees were shaking and her shoulders trembled. Lee stepped in front of her with his eyebrows drawn together in a severe tilt. "Control yourself, Uchiha Sasuke!" he commanded.

"Where is Hinata?" Sasuke demanded. He was nearly at Lee's chest, but he ignored him completely, glaring over his shoulder at Sakura.

"I don't know," Sakura said breathlessly.

"Then where is Kiba?"

"He went toward the river."

"Wait, what are you talking about?" Naruto almost knocked Sasuke's shoulder aside. "Hinata's gone missing? I thought she was with Neji?" His eyes were wide, burning bright with anger and concern.

"Wait, was she with you, Sasuke?" Naruto forced him around with his fingers dug into his shoulder. "How is that possible? We left her with Neji to fight some spider freak! How the hell was she able to get to you before we did?"

"Orochimaru," Sasuke hissed, throwing him aside. He dashed passed Sakura and Lee to make his way further down river. The others immediately followed after him, but when they did Kiba showed up with Akamaru. Sasuke nearly collided with him. "What is that?" he asked Kiba, skidding to a stop.

"Wait…" Naruto ran up beside Sasuke, his eyes wide with horror. "Is that Hinata-chan's jacket?"

"There's blood on it," Kiba said gravely, holding it up. "The river washed it out pretty good, but you can tell there was a lot of it. Dammit!" He clenched the jacket in his fists and Akamaru whined from inside his collar. "What the hell happened? Where is Neji?" He walked up to Sasuke angrily, teeth bared like a dog's, and struck him in his lower jaw. Sasuke reacted only with a turn of his head.

"The hell's going on, Uchiha?" Kiba screamed. "Where is Hinata? Did you do this?" Sasuke spit blood on the ground. Veins appeared in his cornea, which were already tinted red from water irritation, and his coal colored iris shrank to the size of pins. He did not look all the way there.

"What are you talking about?" Sakura shot at Kiba. "Don't be stupid! Sasuke would never—"

"I did this," Sasuke breathed.

Sakura gasped. Someone's breath caught in their throat. In over a minute no one managed to get anything passed their lips. Naruto was the first person to break the silence.

"Wh…what are you saying?"

Sasuke whirled toward them. He could not see his own face, but however it looked scared the hell out of Sakura. "I did this," he said again. There was no life in his voice. "I let him do this. This is my fault. She's dead and it's because of me."

"Sasuke…" Naruto went utterly white. Now it wasn't even anger that impaired him, but utter disbelief. "What are you saying? What happened to Hinata?" When Sasuke didn't answer Naruto put both fists through his collar. "Did you hear me?" He shook him. "What happened to Hinata? Don't you lie to me! And where the hell is Orochimaru?"

"H-Hey guys…" Sakura clutched both hands to her chest as she looked around doggedly. "Is it just me or is the fog getting thicker?" Naruto released Sasuke.

"Something is wrong," Lee said. He made sure to keep close to Sakura. "This isn't a normal fog." Even Akamaru was squirming inside Kiba's jacket.

"It's Orochimaru." Everyone looked at Sasuke. His head was bowed toward the ground, hair still sopping wet, hanging in his eyes. "He's doing this. He's watching us." A slow grin made its way onto his face. Sakura pressed her hands to her chin.

"W-what's wrong with you, Sasuke?" Her voice shook. The curse marks were making their way from his neck to his arms. Some even painted the corners of his forehead. He began chuckling softly.

"Keep it together, Sasuke." Kakashi dropped in from the fog and clutched his shoulder. Sasuke was immediately taken off guard and spun away from him.

"Kakashi-sensei!" cried Naruto. Sakura ran to him.

"Focus," Kakashi told Sasuke. "She is still alive."

"What?" It was like being struck with a pale of warm water. "How do you know that? If she's alive then where the hell is she?" The fog thickened around them. Even Kakashi, who was only a few feet away, barely showed through the ominous white cloud.

"Medics and Anbu are already in the forest. They're on their way here now—"

There was a deep chuckle in the fog. "So you're all reunited now, are you? And not a single one of you dead. Well, except for one. A little late, aren't you Kakashi?"

"Orochimaru." Kakashi lifted the band from over his left eye. Sasuke withdrew whatever reserves that were left in him to activate his Sharingan again. A rush went to his head the moment he did, but he shook it off. What he saw in his sensei was a mirror reflection of his own eye; a Sharingan. It was the last clear thing he was able to see before the fog consumed them.

The only thing visible now was the ethereal blur of chakra, which Sasuke could loosely detect through the cloud. Sakura, Naruto, Lee, and Kiba where still there, but for some reason they were migrating away from each other. It was like being cast to another plane. They began shouting for each other, but Sasuke did not respond. He too migrated away from them, but of his own will. Kakashi no doubt must have noticed, and yet he didn't call out for him.

Orochimaru was somewhere waiting to strike. Kakashi knew this and made sure to stay close to the others. He had his Sharingan. Kiba and Akamaru had their acute sense of smell. And Lee had his whirlwind. If only a small space needed to be temporarily cleared, he could do it for them, saving Sakura and Naruto the trouble of stumbling out of arm's reach.

With that in mind Sasuke bounded away from them. His thoughts immediately went to Hinata. Where? If she was alive, why didn't Kakashi go back with her? And where the hell was Neji? If he wasn't dead, Sasuke would make sure he was once Hinata had been taken care of. There was no reason he should have let her get away from him.

If he couldn't sense her chakra how could he find her? The only thing guiding his path was the sound of rushing water. It was only a small thread, but the only one he had to go on for now. If she had managed to drag herself from the water he would know, but unfortunately he didn't sense anyone's chakra along the way. When he came upon a grassy edge he had to stop. "What the hell is this?" he grumbled. He could hear quite clearly the deafening crash of water hundreds of feet below him and swore.

Hinata… was she really down there? He strained to see the bottom. Even if the fog wasn't impairing his vision, the water itself created enough of a haze to obscure the dangerous pits below. Tons of water pressing down her small and injured frame . . .

The back of his eyes began to burn. It was so harsh, so unforgiving that he didn't understand at first what was happening. When he did he laughed and swiped at his eyes with the back of his arm. He laughed even louder, loud enough to overtake the boom of crashing water.

"I'm crying," he expelled. He couldn't breathe. When was the last time the back of his throat burned like this? It was like every part of his body, his head, his stomach, his throat, was contracting around itself. He'd almost forgotten what it felt like to be choked with emotion. It hit him completely unawares, strangled him, mutilated him. "Make it stop . . ." His forehead scorched his palm as he placed a hand over his eye. When he did, a spot appeared in his vision, hovering somewhere beyond the fog down below. What the hell?

He removed his hand, but the tiny pink spot was still there. "What is that?" He craned his neck further over the edge, blinking a few times. The fact that he could see it from this distance meant it was chakra of some sort, but nothing he had ever seen before. Was it Hinata? Sasuke took a few steps back, and without any sort of preparation threw himself out over the waterfall. He raced the river on the way down, feeling the spray of cold water all over his body.

With his hands clapped together in a triangle he plunged into the water with explosive impact. The sting was painful, but the shock seemed to bring him back to life a little. The pink glow was indeed under the waterfall, now much brighter. He bobbed to the surface and took a deep breath. When he dove back down he kicked his legs feverishly, putting every effort into powerful strokes that would bring him further toward the bottom of the waterfall.

Enormous rocks barricaded him on all sides. If not for the glowing target he might have dove straight into one of them. If nothing else he was grateful for that. He swam and swam until finally the haze of the water clarified to reveal something that was…

His heart pounded. What the hell was that? It was some sort of chakra extended in the shape of a sphere. As he got closer he realized that it wasn't just a sphere, but some kind of barrier. In the pearl shaped stratosphere there housed a person sunk in between the rocks, caught in a gap and suspended like a cradle. It was Hinata. On her breast there was a firefly whose entire abdomen radiated this curious protective chakra.

Being surrounded by water made it absurdly difficult to tell if there were tears coming from his eyes. He deactivated his Sharingan and grabbed Hinata in his arms, taking just a moment to check the wound Orochimaru had given her. No vitals were hit. Surely he was no medic, but he could tell that much at least. Had the snake been hoping to drown her in the river then? Giving Sasuke that futile hope of saving her… Egocentric ass, but it did leave them a window opportunity.

When they surfaced he took her away from the deafening crash of the waterfall. There was a clearing not too far away. It was small, but the fog was less impeding there than on the mountaintop. There he finally put her down. The firefly took off from her breast, making a circle around his head. "You're Shino's, aren't you?" he said. "Tell him I said thank you." Whether or not the insect understood, it took off almost immediately back toward the river.

Sasuke put his hand to the side of Hinata's face. She was so cold. He pulled her against him. "Hinata . . ." She needed medical attention now. She would not wake without it. Whatever had kept her alive so far wouldn't hold out for much longer, so he gathered her in as tight as he could and went in search of a team.

Luckily Kakashi had thought ahead and sent for medics. One was not so difficult to find with his Sharingan. They were a team of two, a guard and a medic, and more than a little surprised to see him dropping in from the sky with an injured girl in his arms. "Please," he said. It was the most sincere he had ever been. "Heal her." They did. He stayed by her side the whole time, holding her hand. It was just as small as he remembered, only colder.

When she came to he gathered her again. "Thank you," he said to the medic. "There are five others down river. Orochimaru is with them, so they might need your help. Are there others here?"

"Yes," said the woman. "A team of Anbu has been dispatched. The Hokage is with them."

"The Hokage?" Sasuke looked at Hinata. "Did you find another Hyuga in the forest?"

"He is being assisted by another team. We told him to return to the village afterword."

"He won't." Sasuke was sure of that. "He'll come looking for his cousin. You should go get the others. I will bring Hinata back to the village."

"Are you sure?" said the man. We can escort you back now."

"No. I can take care of her."

"And you?" asked the woman. "Are you injured?"

"No," Sasuke said at once.

"Alright. We're counting on you." They followed his directions down river. Sasuke was glad to be alone with Hinata for the time being. With Neji's Byakugan it wouldn't be long before he found them. The fog was no object.

"Sasuke-kun?" Hinata's eyes fluttered. He touched her cheek with the flat of his palm. Despite the coldness of his skin and hers, he could still feel warmth there.

"Are you okay?" he asked. She blinked.

"Your eyes are red."

"It was the river." Her tiny hands fumbled over his wet shirt.

"Don't go back to Orochimaru. Please." Her lower lip shook. Her face looked so incredibly childish when struck with sorrow, and it hurt him. He had never been so acutely stricken by someone else's pain before. In his eyes she was an incredibly strong female. To see her like this . . . it was both alarming and fascinating.

"I'm not going back to him," he assured her.

"But you're going?" Sasuke hugged her to him so that her chin was resting on his shoulder.

"There will be no peace for me until I resolve things with my brother. I need you . . . I need you to understand. I can't go anywhere until you do." She put her thin arms around his back, but there was strength in them.

"Then I don't understand." Surprisingly he found himself chuckling at that.

"Is Hinata Hyuga being spoiled?"

"M . . . Maybe I am." He laughed.

"I like that. You should spoil yourself more often."

"If I can do it just this once that's all I need. Please don't go." Sasuke pressed his mouth to the crook of her neck. He drank the warmth there, closing his eyes for just a moment. If he could indulge in this small rapture, he knew it would carry him for a very long time.

"I'm sorry, Hinata. About everything. I'm sorry for treating you badly. I'm sorry for letting you get hurt. I'm not strong enough to protect you. Not yet."

"Get stronger at the village, then. I'll train with you like I always have." Sasuke's smile was painful. Reluctantly he pulled away from her. Again he touched her cheek, this time to brush a mat of wet hair away from her forehead.

"We won't see each other for a long time. I'll make a lot of mistakes, and in the end the village may not even want me back. I don't even know if I'll survive, but I will carry out my mission no matter what. I'm sorry if this hurts you. It seems like all I can do is apologize. That's how weak I am. When I come back, Hinata, I promise it will be as a much stronger version of myself. If you believe in nothing else, believe in that."

Whatever she was going to say lost itself in his words. Her face contorted just the slightest bit, but the agony was evident. Sasuke may as well have fallen on his own sword. Without any real sense he put his forehead against hers. "I've only ever loved my family. You know that, don't you?"

She was silent.

"I think of you as my family. I think of you as more than my family, in fact. Do you know what that means?" She tilted her eyes up. Her cheeks were a beautiful shade of red.

"Why can't you just say I love you?" At that he felt his cheeks go hot as well.

"If I say it, will you tell me you understand?"

"Maybe." He sighed, looking away from her.

"I . . . love you." When she chuckled he spun toward her, cheeks even hotter than before. She pulled at his wet shirt with her face tilted up toward his. Like he had a choice.

They kissed only for a short moment, tender and deep. Pulling away may have been the hardest thing he had ever done. Killing his brother would be easy in comparison.

Somewhere beyond the sound of crickets, the rustling of trees, and the crash of water someone was calling for Hinata. "Nii-san," Hinata whispered, looking towards the river.

Sasuke looked at her face one last time while she wasn't looking. Though childish in her fragility, in every other sense she was a woman. Something about her had changed. Some of the roundness in her cheeks was gone. There was a swell of her chest he had never noticed with her jacket on, and the length of her hair now covered the small rounds of her shoulders. Her lashes had gotten thicker, and her eyes were thoughtful and kind. I want her, he thought fiercely.

He was stricken with an urge to just take her; kite her away from her home, her family, and all her friends. She deserves better. It would take a long time for him to become "better," if he ever did at all. That sunny day on the roof of the academy seemed like ages ago. The days of sitting idly in class watching her, of eating with her, training with her, and simply being with her . . . He would dream of those days in his isolation.

As much as he would have simply liked to go back to that, truth of the matter was he just wasn't all the way there. If only half is what he could offer her, than it was worth waiting until he was whole again. If she would accept him back at that time, he would gladly walk into her arms.

"He's coming to get me," Hinata told him. Her voice was touched with panic.

"Good," Sasuke said, clearing his throat. "He'll take care of you."

"But Sasuke—"

"Only until I come back. Don't let him touch you in the meantime."

"Huh?" He smiled and stood. Looking up at him with those big, hopeful eyes, she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

"Orochimaru was right. As long as you're here I'll always come back. Keep that in mind, Hinata. Goodbye. For now."

She let him go. It wasn't easy for her. It wasn't easy for him. Her stubbornness played no part in her understanding. She understood him just fine. It pained her, but chasing after him would have hurt even more. She also wanted to become stronger. She also wanted to be able to protect the person she loved. Their desire to become stronger versions of themselves is what molded them together, and it would again. When it did, they would both be strong together.

Winning her father's respect, taking care of Hanabi and changing the clan . . . Yes, she had a future too. With Sasuke ever on the horizon, she knew she would never forget it.

*A/N*

The chances of finding a pearl in nature is about 1/12000. I believe that finding someone on this earth who you truly connect with is even slimmer than that, hence the title Tiny Pearl. Regardless, the best kind of relationship is one you have to work at. If I did not believe this, the fanfic would not have turned out so long. I really hope you enjoyed their progress.

If you're wondering why Sasuke chose to leave the village in the end, well, that's because I wholly agreed with his decision in the original. Had he not made that decision I firmly believe he would not have turned out as strong as he did. Sasuke is his own person with his own personal goals, and I didn't want to betray that part of his character, which I really liked.

Everyone has their own story here, much like the manga and anime, so if it seems like I didn't wrap everything up, that's because the centerpiece of this fic is, ultimately, Hinata and Sasuke. The action happening around them was a means of furthering their relationship, but you realized this.

Six years and some change. That's how long it took me to finish this. Thank you; all of you who made it this far. It was fun for me. I certainly hope it was for you.

Whether it be your first time or your last time, please leave me a note in a review. I would love to know what you thought.